Policy Teams are the Autonomous Rockstars
Individuals working at autonomous vehicle companies on policy and government relations are the unsung heroes of the industry.
This talented group of professionals are the true unsung heroes of the industry. While engineers are leading an incredible effort to make vehicles drive themselves in all conditions on any road, in any city around the world, their incredible engineering feats would be squandered if it was not for their policy teams.
Policy teams are actively educating elected officials on automated technology and keeping their staff informed on the technology’s progress while developing deep levels of trust. At the same time, these teams are working with industry organizations such as SAE International through their SAE Demo Days initiative, PAVE (Partners for Automated Vehicle Education) and public interest groups such as The National Safety Council (NSC) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
SAE Demo Days are a series of autonomous vehicle demo days where the public has the unique opportunity to experience the technology first hand by taking a ride in an autonomous vehicle. After the ride, guests are able to speak with industry leaders and ask questions regarding how technology will impact and eventually improve their daily lives.
Guests who have attended an SAE Demo Day in Los Angeles, Tampa, Babcock Ranch, and Detroit, have walked away with a positive impression of automated technology. An overwhelming majority of riders who have attended SAE Demo Days are excited about the technology and are willing to give up control of the vehicle to become a passenger.
This is what policy teams do best. They build and maintain trust. Trust between elected officials and the industry. Trust between regulators and the industry. Trust between the public and the industry. Trust between investors, Wall Street, and the industry. Establishing and maintaining trust between all parties is the glue that holds this industry together and without it, there is no autonomous vehicle industry
The secret to building and maintaining this trust is diversity. These individuals come from unique and sometimes interesting backgrounds, which are both necessary and exciting for a new emerging industry.
With such diverse professional backgrounds as city goverment, corrections, federal government, housing, journalism, legislative aides and music, these talented individuals offer a unique insight into regulations, policy, and most importantly personalities. They are able to maneuver in ways most cannot comprehend. They have deep relationships across the board and most importantly those relationships extend across party lines.
These individuals are not experienced automotive executives looking at the world through oil-tinted glasses. Instead, they are seasoned entrepreneurs who see the world through trust and relationships.
Relationships run deep and the level of loyalty between this special group is unheard of in traditional industries. Policy teams actively collaborate together and share notes with one another on the best political strategy to ensure the ideal outcome for the industry and their respective companies.
This level of collaboration ensures that when engineers develop Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles, the proper regulations are in place for deployment and the public is ready and comfortable for an autonomous future.
Without policy teams, the entire autonomous vehicle industry would collapse, investors would lose billions of dollars and the public would never get to experience the future of mobility. This is why policy teams are the autonomous rockstars.